A large number of board games are known, with chess being one of several of the oldest known games that is still high in popularity. Not surprisingly, there have been a number of attempts to improve upon the game of chess.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,523, issued to Patrick D. C. Floriglio in 1998 is one example of a chess improvement having a board that is eight spaces deep and ten spaces wide. Two new pieces, "earls," are introduced, each originally lined up between the bishop and knight prior to play. Each earl is moved two spaces in a first diagonal direction, and then one space in a second diagonal direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,334, issued to George William Duke in 1997 discloses a similar eight by ten board with two new "falcon" pieces. While the falcon pieces cannot jump over other pieces, in other manners tend to exhibit considerable freedom of movement.
Other U.S. Pat. Nos., such as 5,421,582, 4,778,187 and 3,652,091 are introduce still further variations, such as facilities enabling the participation of third and fourth players.
Unfortunately, while much innovation has been directed to chess improvements, few of these games have gained considerable acclaim or popularity. What is needed is a still further chess improvement, which introduces a new piece and a new board layout which enhances and improves the game of chess for new and experienced players alike.